Interesting Journal Articles

Hydrocortisone Therapy for Patients with Septic Shock. NEJM, 01/2008.

Hydrocortisone did not improve survival in patients with septic shock, either overall or in patients who did not have a response to corticotropin.

Intensive Insulin Therapy and Pentastarch Resuscitation in Severe Sepsis. NEJM, 01/2008.

Intensive insulin therapy placed critically ill patients with sepsis at increased risk for serious adverse events related to hypoglycemia. Use of hydroxyethyl starch in the study was harmful.

Four no more: The ‘PSA cutoff era’ is over (PDF file). CCJM, 01/2008.

Platelet-Activating Factor, PAF Acetylhydrolase, and Severe Anaphylaxis. Peter Vadas et al. NEJM, 01/2008.

Serum PAF levels were directly correlated with the severity of anaphylaxis. It looks like PAF has a good chance of becoming as important in anaphylaxis diagnosis as BNP has become in CHF exacerbation.

Metformin for the Treatment of the Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. NEJM Review. John E. Nestler, M.D. NEJM, 01/2008

Major Depressive Disorder. NEJM Review. R.H. Belmaker, M.D., and Galila Agam, Ph.D. NEJM, 01/2008.

A time efficient way to stay up-to-date with medical literature

"How do you eat in elephant? In small bites." The same rule probably applies to staying current with the ever expanding avalanche of medical literature. One can try the following approach:

1. Subscribe the to the RSS feeds of the 5 major medical journals (NEJM, JAMA, BMJ, Lancet and Annals) plus 2-3 subpecialty journals in your field of interest.


Medical Journals tab: A screenshot of iGoogle with RSS feeds from the major medical journals.

2. Read the journal on the day it is published online, for example, NEJM on Wednesdays.

3. Use text-to-speech to listen to articles you do not have time to read.

4. Listen to journal podcasts. Click here to subscribe the podcasts of the 4 major journals in iGoogle.

Related:
Make Your Own "Medical Journal" with iGoogle Personalized Page
Share iGoogle Tabs with Medical Journals, Podcasts and Gadgets
Annals of Internal Medicine Launches Podcast and Audio Summaries
Text-to-Speech Programs and Continuous Medical Education
Image source: OpenClipArt, public domain.